What were some of the specific changes in government including foreign affairs did Augustus make during his reign?

Answer 1

Augustus restored order in the empire because, by winning the Final Civil War of the Roman Republic, he became the most powerful man in Rome. He controlled the legions, the spoils of war had made an immensely rich man and he had an extensive network of patronage throughout the empire. He used this to become an absolute ruler. He maintained order and stability though his firm grip on power. However, he had to tread carefully.

Augustus turned himself into an absolute ruler while pretending that he was restoring the republic and that he respected its constitution. He learned from Julius Caesar's mistakes. Caesar wanted to restore the central government's control over the provinces, which had become the personal fiefs of their governors, and the efficiency of the state by concentrating power in his hands. However, he had given the impression that he wanted to become a king, which outraged conservative republicans and was seen as a threat to the republic. As a result, a group of conservative senators assassinated him. Augustus had the same agenda as Caesar, but had learnt that he needed to try not to antagonise the conservatives and the senators.

In the First Settlement he reached with the senate (27 BC) the senate gave him control of the border provinces of the empire (imperial provinces) with a ten year "pacification" mandate, while the senate retained governance of the core provinces (proconsular or senatorial provinces). This gave the idea that the senate and the traditions of the republic had been respected by allowing the senators in remain in charge of the core provinces. However, this institutionalised Augustus's military power. The border provinces had most of the legions, giving Augustus control of 20 legions, while the senate controlled only five. Moreover, it sanctioned Augustus's extra-constitutional power. Constitutionally, only senators could govern the provinces, but the senate agreed to give Augustus the border provinces because he controlled the army. He was also made permanent consul (head of state), even though the term of office of consuls was meant to be one year and consuls were meant to be elected. As such, he also had power over the governors appointed by the senate.

Augustus also used other tactics to maintain his pretence that he was restoring and preserving the republic. He retained the popular assembly and its right to vote on bills and to elect the officers of state. However, he became the real legislator and only made token submissions of bills for the assembly to vote on. He retained the officers of state of the republic and their election by the assembly. However, this was just a formality because he created his own administration and the state was run by officials appointed by him. He revived archaic religious cults which had been forgotten to portray himself as a champion of tradition. However, he had Caesar deified, called himself son of the divine Caesar and created a religious cult centred on his person like Caesar had done. He chose the title of Princeps, which roughly means first man. He derived this title from that of the Princeps Senatus, who was the first among equals of the senate, was the eldest senator, the first member of of the senate by precedence and could speak first. Augustus pretended that he was a first among equals and that he ruled in conjunction with the senate while acting as an absolute and turning the senate into an instrument for his power. He took up some precedents set by Caesar. He had the senate bestowing titles on him: Princeps and Augustus (the illustrious one) which was a religious rather that a political title.

With regard to foreign policy, Augustus' rule was one of the most expansionist ones in Roman history. He completed the conquest of Spain. He expanded the border of Libya and Tunisia inland. He took over the eastern part of the coast of Algerian and part of the northern coast of Morocco on the Atlantic. He annexed two client states: Galatia and Judaea. There were other conquests as well.

In 15 BC Augustus sent the brothers Tiberius and Drusus conquer Rhaetia. This region covered eastern and central Switzerland, part of southern Germany, most of the Tirol (in eastern Austria and the next door area of Italy) and part of Lombardy (in Italy). In 16 BC Publius Silius, proconsul (governor) of Illyricum annexed Noricum, Which covered most of Austria and past of Slovenia. Noricum had joined the Pannonians in an attack on an area in northeastern Italy.

The conquest of the above alpine regions served as a springboard for the conquest of Germania. In 12 BC Augustus sent Tiberius and Drusus to campaign in Germania. By 9 BC Drusus reached the river Elbe, conquering the rest of southern Germania and central and much of northern Germania. Tiberius launched an operation against the Marcomanni of Bohemia (the Czech Republic). However, he did not conquer them because he had to return to Germania to help there.

Some expansion (like the one into Noricum) was related to attacks or rebellions. A Scythian people from north of the Danube tribe crossed the river and threatened a Roman ally. They were defeated in 29 BC by Marcus Licinius Crassus. Following this Moesia (an area along the Danube which included southern Serbia, northern Macedonia and Bulgaria and the part of Romania across the Danube) was annexed as a Roman province. In AD 6, Daesitiates troops (the Desitiates were a people from central Bosnia and Herzegovina) mutinied and defeated Roman forces set against them. The Pannonians joined the revolt. Augustus ordered Tiberius and Germanicus to deal with the rebellion. He managed to suppress it in 9 BC. Pannonia (eastern Austria, western Hungary, part of Slovenia and northern Croatia and Serbia) was annexed as a roman Province.

In the east, the Parthian Empire (the third of the four pre-Islamic Persian empires) had defeated the Romans in Armenia and captured the standards of legions three times (53, 40 and 36 BC). In 20 BC Augustus sent an army under Agrippa and Tiberius with the aim of turning Armenia into a client state. However, Augustus wished to avoid a long and costly war against the mighty Persians and used this force as leverage for negotiations. A compromise was reached Armenia was turned into a neutral zone and there was no war between these two powers.